A Worthwhile Mission
by prodigus feldspar
Summary: The newly kazakage'd Gaara and Everyone's favorite spandex wearing nin, Lee, are sent on a mission to find...mushrooms? In the forest they may find out more about themselves than they already knew. rated for yaoi lemon. Wink, wink
1. Chapter 1

By: Prodigus Feldspar

Disclaimer: I ain't gots no ownership. (Tear, tear).

Also, I just have to add, this is before the exorcism of Shukaku, but after Gaara becomes the Kazekage. Woo!

000

A light, gentle breeze drifted through the secluded trail, every leaf on every tree seemed illuminated by the scorching summer sun.

Gaara clasped his hands behind his back as he admired the lush Konoha foliage, _what a beautiful day, _he thought contently.

The soft crunch of dirt and leaves underneath his feet created a soothing rhythm. The only other sound was the rustling of leaves.

Gaara frowned as a nagging thought drifted into his mind, _why had Tsunade invited me here on my week off?_

Gaara inhaled the fresh summer air and brushed away his confusion.

Anyway, as Kazekage, he was usually cooped up in his office, and a chance to leave was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

He smiled slightly; _I wonder what everyone at the sand village will do when they find out that their leader left mysteriously! I should have made an announcement, but I won't be gone too long._

Gaara snapped to attention as he heard footsteps behind him, fast footsteps. The footsteps cut through the peace of the trail like a knife through butter.

Before he could turn around, two bandaged hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who, Gaara-san!" A familiar voice said.

Gaara frowned in annoyance.

"An annoying idiot who won't leave me alone?" Gaara asked playfully and, before the person behind him could reply, using some nearby sand, grabbed the hands covering his eyes and wrenched them away.

Gaara smiled upon hearing a cry of pain, and turned around to see Rock Lee on the ground rubbing his hands.

Gaara smirked in triumph.

"You should be kinder, Gaara-san." Lee muttered.

"Looks like I guessed right," Gaara chuckled and began walking away.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Lee called, pulling a letter out of the olive-colored vest he was wearing.

Gaara took notice immediately to the Genin gear that covered up half of Lee's spandex-clad body.

"You became a Genin?" Gaara asked in usual monotone and began walking briskly, hoping to have bought enough time with small talk to run away and escape a meeting with "Granny Tsunade."

Lee jogged faster and easily caught up with the red-haired Kazekage.

"Yeah!" Lee said enthusiastically with a warm smile, "Now I can inspire students like Gai-sensei inspired me!"

Gaara cringed, _how lame can he be?!_ He thought.

Gaara sighed inwardly and walked faster, a few fallen leaves crunching underneath his feet. Lee subconsciously matched strides.

"Tsunade-sama ordered me to give this to you," Lee announced, holding out an envelope grandly, as if he were a messenger from some sort of queen, which, in a way, he was.

Gaara groaned inwardly, Kazekages do _not_ groan in public. Anyway groaning isn't a very Gaara-esque thing to do, now is it?

Gaara snatched the envelope out of Lee's hands who, in turn, stared at him expectantly.

Gaara lifted a non-existent eyebrow.

"Tsunade-sama said that the letter somehow involved me also," Lee explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Gaara tore open the envelope and stared at the letter.

"What does it say?" Lee inquired, leaning closer to Gaara, who winced at the raven-haired nin's closeness.

"She cannot be serious." Gaara muttered, glaring at the paper in his hands.

To be continued…

Please excuse my "Fic-writing A.D.D." I will try my hardest to finish this story and then I will finish my other stories.

Also, sorry for the short chapter, I just felt like this was a good place to end. (Anyway, this _will_ get better! Wink, wink.) Bwafafafa!


	2. Explanation

By: Prodigus Feldspar

OMG! I feel so stupid! Thank you, Jadeile! I meant Jounin not Genin! ARGH! I'm sorry!

Don't worry, folks! This won't suck as much later on!

(Also, I really doubt Granny Tsunade has telepathic powers, but it would be cool if she did, so she does. Hurray.)

000

Gaara readjusted the tough, leather strap holding his gourd on his back irritably and crossed his arms. Lee, who was standing next to him, cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Gaara glanced around the circular room with disdain. _It's bad enough Lee dragged me down here, but couldn't I at least talk to someone else besides Tsunade?_ Gaara grumbled to himself.

He glared at the blonde woman sitting at her desk across from him.

Tsunade glanced at him with mild interest, but appeared to be occupied with shuffling through some papers on her desk.

Gaara sighed loudly. Tsunade continued to ignore him.

"Why am I here?" Gaara growled impatiently.

"Whatever do you mean?" Tsunade giggled, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Gaara pulled the letter out of one of the pockets of his red Kazekages cloak and held it out to her.

"The summons you sent me." He said dryly.

"Ah!" Tsunade gasped, face brightening, "Your mission!"

Gaara's left eye twitched, "I'm the Kazekage. I do not go on _missions_."

"And I am a Jounin," Lee chimed in, "So how does this involve me?"

"Well," Tsunade began, "I'm in dire need for a task to be done and all of my cute nins are of on other missions, training, and whatnot, so I decided to settle for you two."

Gaara and Lee were unfazed by not being called "cute". Anyway, there were used to Tsunade only calling girls "cute".

Gaara tapped his foot in annoyance, "But why us? We're not even teammates. If you really need a sand ninja, what not send Temari or Kankuro?"

Tsunade leaned forward in her chair, resting her chin on her hands with a knowing smile on her face, "When you two were fighting Kimimaru, I was hiding in a nearby tree."

"How come I didn't notice you?" Gaara asked skeptically.

"I was behind you guys so I wouldn't get crushed by your sand, and anyway," Tsunade smirked, "You were probably too worried about saving Lee to notice."

Gaara looked down and blushed.

"But what does our fight with Kimimaru have to do with anything?" Lee questioned, he was completely oblivious to Gaara, who was turning as red as his hair.

"You two make an excellent team," she said simply and turned to Gaara. Locking gazes with him, she continued, "anyway, I doubt Gaara would mind being on a team with you, Lee."

Lee cocked his head to the side in confusion.

_Meddling bitch, _Gaara swore inwardly, _Stupid mother f-_

Tsunade's voice echoed through his mind, **_you really need to clean up your language, Gaara!_**

Gaara's eyes narrowed, _Telepathy?_

**_Yup!_** Came Tsunade's response.

_Stay out of my love life!_ Gaara snarled.

_**Love life?** _Tsunade purred, _**I just said you mind being on a team with Lee**._

_Get out of my head._

_**Why? Would you rather I talk about your obsession in front of Lee?**_

_Obsession?_

_**Tee-hee! Stalker!**_

_Shut up!_

_**Little emo boy!**_

_Malevolent Bitch!_

_**Why so touchy?**_

_Why hasn't Shukaku hurt you yet?_

_**I'm not going to be warded off by some stupid raccoon!**_

_I'm warning you!_

_**What are you going to do? You might scare Lee if you use desert coffin. You almost killed him with it before! **_

"Get out of my head!" Gaara shouted out loud.

Tsunade continued, **_Are you afraid he'll find out? Or do you think you'll just "loose control"?_**

Tsunade paused, ready to throw another telepathic assault at Gaara when Lee stepped between them.

"Tsunade-sama," He said firmly, "I mean you no disrespect, but please stop whatever it is you're doing to Gaara-san."

Tsunade frowned, obviously peeved by Lee's commanding tone.

She raised a fist in front of her face and Lee flinched, ready to have his ass kicked by who was titled by many "The most feared ninja in the world", save Gaara, of course.

Tsunade smiled and waved her hand casually at them both, causing Lee to almost collapse with relief. Gaara was amazed by how bipolar the blonde woman could be.

Tsunade sat back in her chair and swung her feet up on to the desk, "I suppose I'd better get to the point before we run out of time."

Gaara sent a glare to her that would have cut stone. Tsunade glanced at him and smiled, "I was only kidding earlier, Gaara!"

Gaara continued to glare and Lee continued to be completely and utterly confused.

Tsunade grimaced at the two boys, "Youth is so fickle these days," She muttered.

Clearing her throat, she began, "Well, there's been an outbreak …of…" She lifted an index finger to her lower lip thoughtfully, "Well, let's just say it's a mild form of the plague-"

"_WHAT?!" _ Lee sputtered, "A-A plague?! In Konoha?" Tsunade closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.

Gaara could have cared more about the life of a spider in his office. Unlike Lee, who began to spaz out, "Weren't you going to tell people? There are, most likely, ways it can be pre-"

"No!" Tsunade shouted as Lee turned towards the door. After taking a deep breath she continued in a softer voice, "The few people who have been contaminated are in quarantine and the last thing we want is panic in this village. Its already bad enough with those damned Akatsuki."

"So what?" Gaara almost stated, "Why don't you heal the infected civilians?"

"It's not that easy," Tsunade sighed sadly, shuffling through a heap of papers, "There is only one way to cure them. And that is feeding them a Bodi Mushroom."

Gaara was flabbergasted. _Mushrooms?_

"Tsunade-sama, Why do you need powerful ninja to find a few, erm," –Lee appeared to be having trouble not sounding as incredulous as Gaara- " Mushrooms?"

"They are very _special_ mushrooms," Gaara snorted at Tsunade's emphasis on the word special. _The Kazekage and one of the most powerful leaf Nins out there were on a mission for stoner mushrooms._

Gaara found himself ignored once more by Tsunade, "The Bodi Mushroom is a very rare mushroom and can only be found at certain times of the day, also many villages, both near and far, carve the tops into Bodi seed prayer bracelets.

"So I doubt they'd be too happy about finding a couple of foreigners making off with something that revered."

Gaara still thought Tsunade was as thick as a rock, "So why not go your self? Why put _my_ people at risk?"

"You have people who will take over for you when you're gone, namely Temari and Kankuro," Tsunade pointed out. Raising her voice, she continued, "Unlike me, who has an annoying assistant eavesdrops on her Hokage's conversations." A muffled squeak of surprise was heard beyond the door.

"Stupid Shizune," Tsunade muttered before smirking, "Anyway, I have leverage on you, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes narrowed cynically, "What do you mean?"

"I can have your rank as Kazekage taken away." She said simply. Gaara's widened a fraction, but then his blank stare took over, "You can't do that."

Tsunade locked gazes with the boy, "Oh, yes I can," she hissed, taking her feet off the desk and leaning forward. (If Jiraiya would have been there, he would have had a heyday at Tsunade leaning over so much. Perverted old man.) "You see, Leaders of villages can be impeached if a large amount of other leaders vote for them to be knocked down a peg," Tsunade frowned slightly, "Unless too many other villages say they want that person to stay, then it gets vetoed." Gaara gave her look that said something along the lines of 'you appear to have forgotten that you are only one person'

"But," Tsunade contradicted his stare smugly, "I already have a few strong alliances with the other 'Kages, and If I slap a few embargoes on a couple of things here and there I can persuade the organization of almost anything," –another reason people feared Tsunade, she was a woman, and a bloody manipulative one at that- "And you wouldn't want to go back to the way things were before those people needed you, now do you, Gaara?"

Gaara's gaze hardened as cold, bitter memories began swirling up inside of him. _Yashamaru-The Kazekage-No!_ Gaara slapped himself mentally; He was not going to lose it. Living on the brink of insanity was better than lashing out occasionally and being feared. Gaara glanced at Lee who was watching him uncertainly. Gaara twitched up a corner of his mouth into an awkward smile. Lee grinned back at him.

This was going to be a very, very, long mission.

Tsunade yawned pointedly and checked her watch, obviously a gift from a foreign land. _Damn, she had thought this through well!_

"Well, I'll see you two at six o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll give you the details about you mission then."

Before either Gaara of Lee could utter a response, Tsunade shooed them out of her office. And, in the process, almost killed Shizune but throwing open the door and smacking the girl in the face.

"I-I'm sorry!" Was all Lee could manage as he and Gaara were practically thrown out of the building.

Once the two young men were gone, Tsunade retreated to her office and began doodling on a non-important document. Her latest artwork appeared to be Jiraiya being eaten by a giant slug.

She looked up from drawing a mob of girls laughing at him to see Shizune staring at her with wonder.

"Yes?"

"Is…Is there really a plague in Konoha?" Shizune asked frightfully, knowing the answer deep down inside.

Tsunade burst out laughing, "Of course not, you dolt!" She managed, clutching her ribs painfully.

"But-I-Gaara-Lee-m-mushr-mission?" Shizune choked incoherently.

"That was all part of my brilliant plan!" Tsunade trumpeted proudly.

"You…Tricked the Kazekage for one of your psychotic ambitions?! Again?!"

Tsunade shook a finger at the younger woman, reprimanding, "No, no! It was entirely in the Kazekage's…_interests_…" The way the Hokage said that final word made Shizune want to heave her dinner.

"How would being taken away from his people for a few weeks help him?"

"I'm not quite 'helping' I'm more…" Tsunade's face brightened, "Playing cupid!"

Shizune could have sworn her face turned blue, "WAUGH?!"

Tsunade misinterpreted her assistant's strange noise as a question of how she was going to make everything work out. "Glad you asked! I'm going to send them up to a nice secluded little area in the woods and let their love blossom! There's even a hot spring near by, since it's close to the mountains! Oh, they are going to be so thankful to me!" Tsunade squealed.

Shizune felt a part of her die inside, "F-Freaky eyebrows kid…And…Gaara of the sand? They like each other?!"

"Duh," Tsunade stated.

Before Shizune could babble more questions, the Hokage's office intercom system beeped, "Sharon, the Sorakage of the, erm, petite fleur ('small flower' in French) village is here to see you."

Tsunade scowled. She'd have to deal with Prodigus Feldspar's mom and listen to her rant about purses and listen to her sing, "My humps," but As long as she set up negotiations for Gaara and Lee to not be attacked, she'd be fine.

Anyway it was one 'Kages duty to another to help them out so Tsunade decided to try it out. Anyway what's the worst that could happen?

If only she knew…

To be continued…

Gosh, it was SO boring to explain everything. Oh well. (In case you're wondering, my mom asked to be in my 'story' as a queen or something. I just hope she doesn't read this one. She read the first two chapters of my AkuRoku fic, "Falling with You by My Side", and asked me, "Is this about two little queer boys?" And yes, I'm still recovering from that.)

Btw, if any one is waiting for the PG-13-ness to jump up, in the next chapter there will be a hot spring scene, but it will settle down a bit after that, until the yaoi part though.

Please be patient with me!


	3. Hiatus

Oh, dear…

Dear readers,

Please excuse Prodigus Feldspar. The Hiatus Monster has kidnapped, bound and gagged her and is currently poking her with sharp objects. The monster demands that she either:

A. Die from stab-related injuries

B. Write a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic. (0.o …Wtf?)

C. Write a Digi Charat fanfic.

Or D. finish some of her other fanfictions.

Please don't be angry, she has been having writers block, and cannot concentrate too thoroughly since she got a Great Dane puppy. (His name is Otis.)

She will continue as soon as she can.

(Also she has a ton of homework, since she had missed two weeks of school because she had Strep Throat, Walking pneumonia, and a sinus infection.)

Sincerely,

The Hiatus Monster's secretary.

P.S.

Prodigus Feldspar says 'hi!'.


End file.
